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Stunting Under 5 yrs

What does it mean ?

This is the percentage of children under the age of 5 whose growth in height is restricted by lack of adequate nutrition. Children under 5 that are ‘stunted’ are those who do not reach the minimum height in the healthy range for their age and gender. Stunting can be caused by chronic malnutrition or poor health conditions over the long term.

Why does it matter ?

This is a key indicator for showing levels of malnutrition, access to healthcare, and the socioeconomic status of the community. Children under 5 whose growth is stunted will be affected over their whole lifespan; it causes the development of the body and brain to be impaired and lasts into adulthood. The effects of stunting are irreversible.

How is it collected ?

A national survey was undertaken in each country from a representative sample of households during which heights of all children below the age of five were measured accurately. If a child’s height is less than two standard deviations below the standard median for the child’s age and gender, then that child is designated as stunted.

Find out more about the Summary Definition and the Methodology for Collection and Calculation

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Summary Definition, Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Alternative Data Sources

The data for each indicator on African Health Stats (AHS) are published by the UN agency, or UN inter-agency group, which holds responsibility for global monitoring of the indicator. This varies by indicator. Please refer to ‘Data Source’. AHS uses data from these sources because such data are internationally comparable and it is the mandate of those agencies to prepare such data and monitor progress internationally. In some cases the UN agency has made adjustments to the data in order to make national data internationally comparable, for example they may adjust national estimates to account for differences in survey design, the extent of potential underreporting, and the definition of what is being measured (eg. maternal deaths). This means that at times there may be discrepancies between national and international estimates. Individual countries may prefer to instead rely on national figures for national monitoring. For uniformity, AHS uses only international estimates of the UN agencies in data visualisations.

In 2014, the following countries communicated that they use alternative figures to monitor the indicator Stunting under 5 yrs instead of the figures that appear in AHS data visualisations. The most recent alternative figure supplied by these countries in 2014, by source are: NA

Collection Summary

A national survey was undertaken in each country from a representative sample of households during which heights of all children below the age of five were measured accurately. If a child’s height is less than two standard deviations below the standard median for the child’s age and gender, then that child is designated as stunted. This indicator represents the percentage of children that are stunted in the country.

For further information, see "Notes on the Data": http://data.unicef.org/nutrition/malnutrition.html

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